Hard to Imagine has easily shot up to one of my favorite songs, and I love it as a concert opener. Saw it open twice this tour, and I wouldn't have complained if it opened every show I was at. I love the Gorge 05 version. Actually, on the gremmie.net site, there's a version of HTI under the thanks tab that I really like. Does anyone know what that version is and where it's from?
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Ive been blessed to see it once (they finally busted it out in philly 05)
and im tellin ya.. not a dry eye in the house.. just ugh.. how can five people catch such a sound on a track? Its almost criminal (btw, along with every other song at that show, PERFECTION.. i swear the hard to imagine could have been linked up with the studio version and u could never tell a difference, thats fucking talent)
Hard to Imagine has easily shot up to one of my favorite songs, and I love it as a concert opener. Saw it open twice this tour, and I wouldn't have complained if it opened every show I was at. I love the Gorge 05 version. Actually, on the gremmie.net site, there's a version of HTI under the thanks tab that I really like. Does anyone know what that version is and where it's from?
It's probably the version from the 'Chicago Cab' soundtrack, I know there are 3 recordings of the song - the Vs outtake, the CC soundtrack and the Lost Dogs one, but two are the same - anyone care to clear this up?!
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It's probably the version from the 'Chicago Cab' soundtrack, I know there are 3 recordings of the song - the Vs outtake, the CC soundtrack and the Lost Dogs one, but two are the same - anyone care to clear this up?!
Chicago Cab version = Vitalogy sessions outtake
Lost Dogs version = Vs. sessions outtake
Hard to Imagine has easily shot up to one of my favorite songs, and I love it as a concert opener. Saw it open twice this tour, and I wouldn't have complained if it opened every show I was at. I love the Gorge 05 version. Actually, on the gremmie.net site, there's a version of HTI under the thanks tab that I really like. Does anyone know what that version is and where it's from?
I'm pretty certain that's from the AOL sessions they did back in 06, but that's just going from memory.
Smokey Robinson constantly looks like he's trying to act natural after being accused of farting.
Chicago Cab version = Vitalogy sessions outtake
Lost Dogs version = Vs. sessions outtake
really? how do you know that? i like to think of myself as an audiophile, paying attention to sound and all that. to me the Lost Dogs one sounded like a newly recorded version or that they brought up the sound on the guitars and ed sang fresh lyrics.
it really was. I love the kind of outro "mini-solo" Mike is doing on it these days. It's chill-inducing I tells ya.
no doubt, and then they come back to the main chorus riff and ed belts out along with it. very nice. i got chills hearing this at the DC show. amazing!
Nice to see HTI getting the recognition it so truely deserves. It's been one of my top 5 pearl jam songs ever since I first heard it on a bootleg CD called "Free World" that I bought waaaaayyyy back in 94 or something like that.
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it really was. I love the kind of outro "mini-solo" Mike is doing on it these days. It's chill-inducing I tells ya.
Yes! I love Mike's little slow, melodic outro solos... the two that come to mind are HTI and Present Tense. Nothing big, nothing fancy, but damn, you can tell that he's feeling it...
Smokey Robinson constantly looks like he's trying to act natural after being accused of farting.
Nice to see HTI getting the recognition it so truely deserves. It's been one of my top 5 pearl jam songs ever since I first heard it on a bootleg CD called "Free World" that I bought waaaaayyyy back in 94 or something like that.
oh yeah - i remember bringing signs to all the shows i attended in 95 and 98 - huge signs: "HARD TO IMAGINE"
i still havent heard it live!
but i agree - that first muddled-sounding version - still one of my favorites of all time - i REALLY feel that version
really? how do you know that? i like to think of myself as an audiophile, paying attention to sound and all that. to me the Lost Dogs one sounded like a newly recorded version or that they brought up the sound on the guitars and ed sang fresh lyrics.
Have you heard the Vs. demos? It's pretty obvious it comes from those sessions.
really? how do you know that? i like to think of myself as an audiophile, paying attention to sound and all that. to me the Lost Dogs one sounded like a newly recorded version or that they brought up the sound on the guitars and ed sang fresh lyrics.
It's possible that they recorded new vocals and guitars and stuff, like they did with several Lost Dogs tracks. I haven't heard the Vs. rough mix (or "demo" as people erroneously call it) in a long time, so I can't confirm.
It's possible that they recorded new vocals and guitars and stuff, like they did with several Lost Dogs tracks. I haven't heard the Vs. rough mix (or "demo" as people erroneously call it) in a long time, so I can't confirm.
I have to agree with you there, bob.
The Lost Dogs version has been pretty seriously re-tooled from the original Vs. demo, if it is infact even the same track.
Haven't listened to it too recently,
but i remember getting LD, and thinking, "awe man. this isn't the HTI i used to know and love".
If I was to smile and I held out my hand
If I opened it now would you not understand?
The band had said at the time it was released that some songs on LD got "bandaids." Sounds like they wanted to clean some stuff up. HTI got new lyrics ("tear into yourself) from the CC version (f*ck tradition.)
I have always been a fan of the CC version. Same goes for Alone and Dirty Frank. They were awsome as is. But hey, what do I know?
And my dream is to hear Hard to Imagine live someday!
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I skip Footsteps on Lost Dogs cause I can't stand the harmonica..it totally ruins the intamacy of the lyrics with the acoustic from the Jeremy B-side..like a man barring his soul from a prison cell..what the fuck do we neeed a harmonica added for??
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PS Forgot the biggest Lost Dogs makeover - Driftin'!
It's hard to listen to the Lost Dogs version!
Carry on...
really?
Thats one i don't mind getting a lift.
I like both versions.
Its nice to hear Eddie double his vocals and inflect the lines UP in the background.
Nice.
I like the 45 version as well.
Strangest Tribe is the track that i think shines through on LD.
Only in that i think it is the one song that sounds BETTER in digital format than it did on vinyl. It just didn't have any "oomf" on record, but on CD it sounds phenomenal.
Just my drunken take.
If I was to smile and I held out my hand
If I opened it now would you not understand?
I skip Footsteps on Lost Dogs cause I can't stand the harmonica..it totally ruins the intamacy of the lyrics with the acoustic from the Jeremy B-side..like a man barring his soul from a prison cell..what the fuck do we neeed a harmonica added for??
Are you kidding? The harmonica is an awesome touch. Also, you might be the first person on earth to think a harmonica *doesn't* evoke a man in a prison cell. It's almost like a cliche, the guy in prison, playing his harmonica.
The harmonica is what makes that song, IMO. When they first started busting it out live, it almost made my head spin.
everybody wants the most they can possibly get
for the least they could possibly do
Are you kidding? The harmonica is an awesome touch. Also, you might be the first person on earth to think a harmonica *doesn't* evoke a man in a prison cell. It's almost like a cliche, the guy in prison, playing his harmonica.
The harmonica is what makes that song, IMO. When they first started busting it out live, it almost made my head spin.
The harmonica in prison in cliche..but I have heard it so many times without it it is sacraligious to add anything to it. I like the rawness of the acoustic version..IMO
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The harmonica in prison in cliche..but I have heard it so many times without it it is sacraligious to add anything to it. I like the rawness of the acoustic version..IMO
I don't really care for the harmonica on the LD version because it seems strange to me that they took a track they recorded around 15 years ago, and added a new instrument to it. If they wanted harmonica in it, I wish they would have rerecorded the whole song as a band, because I do love it live with the harmonica, I just thought it was odd to add it to a song that was recorded a long time ago.
words seem so out of place.
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I don't really care for the harmonica on the LD version because it seems strange to me that they took a track they recorded around 15 years ago, and added a new instrument to it. If they wanted harmonica in it, I wish they would have rerecorded the whole song as a band, because I do love it live with the harmonica, I just thought it was odd to add it to a song that was recorded a long time ago.
My exact thoughts.. it was recorded live from Rockline and released..So why would you add studio harmonica to it..when its a live take from a radio appearance??
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My exact thoughts.. it was recorded live from Rockline and released..So why would you add studio harmonica to it..when its a live take from a radio appearance??
now we're questioning the bands decision making process?
lol.
think about it.
its pearl jam.
and you're questioning the thought process behind it?
its rock n fuckin roll, man.
groove on it
or move a long.
If I was to smile and I held out my hand
If I opened it now would you not understand?
The Lost Dogs version has been pretty seriously re-tooled from the original Vs. demo, if it is infact even the same track.
Haven't listened to it too recently,
but i remember getting LD, and thinking, "awe man. this isn't the HTI i used to know and love".
Of course it's been re-tooled. That's why it's called a demo, because it sounds rough. I really don't think they rerecorded anything for this track though, they just mastered the old tape for Lost Dogs. I could be wrong, though.
Comments
2006: Boston 1 and 2
2008: MSG 1 and 2, Mansfield 1 and 2
2010: Boston
2012: Made in America Philly
and im tellin ya.. not a dry eye in the house.. just ugh.. how can five people catch such a sound on a track? Its almost criminal
2010 - Newark 5/18 MSG 5/21
2011 - PJ20 9/3-9/4
2012 - MIA Festival 9/2
2013 - Wrigley Field 7/19 Brooklyn 10/18-10/19 Philly 10/22
2015 - Colbert show - 9/23 Global Citizens Festival 9/26
2016 - Philly 4/28-4/29 MSG 5/1-5/2
It's probably the version from the 'Chicago Cab' soundtrack, I know there are 3 recordings of the song - the Vs outtake, the CC soundtrack and the Lost Dogs one, but two are the same - anyone care to clear this up?!
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Chicago Cab version = Vitalogy sessions outtake
Lost Dogs version = Vs. sessions outtake
I've seen it MSG1 '08 and ER2 '06
I'm pretty certain that's from the AOL sessions they did back in 06, but that's just going from memory.
really? how do you know that? i like to think of myself as an audiophile, paying attention to sound and all that. to me the Lost Dogs one sounded like a newly recorded version or that they brought up the sound on the guitars and ed sang fresh lyrics.
it really was. I love the kind of outro "mini-solo" Mike is doing on it these days. It's chill-inducing I tells ya.
for the least they could possibly do
no doubt, and then they come back to the main chorus riff and ed belts out along with it. very nice. i got chills hearing this at the DC show. amazing!
Yes! I love Mike's little slow, melodic outro solos... the two that come to mind are HTI and Present Tense. Nothing big, nothing fancy, but damn, you can tell that he's feeling it...
oh yeah - i remember bringing signs to all the shows i attended in 95 and 98 - huge signs: "HARD TO IMAGINE"
i still havent heard it live!
but i agree - that first muddled-sounding version - still one of my favorites of all time - i REALLY feel that version
Have you heard the Vs. demos? It's pretty obvious it comes from those sessions.
Are we talking "40 shades of gray" vs. "only gray"?
Which one is the one that was on Hallucinogenic Recipe?
That is the one i used to listen to on an endless loop for like a whole summer, back in ... uh ... cough cough ... '94?
If I opened it now would you not understand?
It's possible that they recorded new vocals and guitars and stuff, like they did with several Lost Dogs tracks. I haven't heard the Vs. rough mix (or "demo" as people erroneously call it) in a long time, so I can't confirm.
I have to agree with you there, bob.
The Lost Dogs version has been pretty seriously re-tooled from the original Vs. demo, if it is infact even the same track.
Haven't listened to it too recently,
but i remember getting LD, and thinking, "awe man. this isn't the HTI i used to know and love".
If I opened it now would you not understand?
The band had said at the time it was released that some songs on LD got "bandaids." Sounds like they wanted to clean some stuff up. HTI got new lyrics ("tear into yourself) from the CC version (f*ck tradition.)
I have always been a fan of the CC version. Same goes for Alone and Dirty Frank. They were awsome as is. But hey, what do I know?
And my dream is to hear Hard to Imagine live someday!
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It's hard to listen to the Lost Dogs version!
Carry on...
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2010 Cleveland
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2022 Hamilton
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x2 on all counts - there's just something about those raw cuts - and I prefer the original lyrics far better than the new ones...
really?
Thats one i don't mind getting a lift.
I like both versions.
Its nice to hear Eddie double his vocals and inflect the lines UP in the background.
Nice.
I like the 45 version as well.
Strangest Tribe is the track that i think shines through on LD.
Only in that i think it is the one song that sounds BETTER in digital format than it did on vinyl. It just didn't have any "oomf" on record, but on CD it sounds phenomenal.
Just my drunken take.
If I opened it now would you not understand?
Are you kidding? The harmonica is an awesome touch. Also, you might be the first person on earth to think a harmonica *doesn't* evoke a man in a prison cell. It's almost like a cliche, the guy in prison, playing his harmonica.
The harmonica is what makes that song, IMO. When they first started busting it out live, it almost made my head spin.
for the least they could possibly do
I love the way Eddie sings certain words. He goes really high and then low. Very noticable on the 2008 boots or shows you went to.
The harmonica in prison in cliche..but I have heard it so many times without it it is sacraligious to add anything to it. I like the rawness of the acoustic version..IMO
I don't really care for the harmonica on the LD version because it seems strange to me that they took a track they recorded around 15 years ago, and added a new instrument to it. If they wanted harmonica in it, I wish they would have rerecorded the whole song as a band, because I do love it live with the harmonica, I just thought it was odd to add it to a song that was recorded a long time ago.
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My exact thoughts.. it was recorded live from Rockline and released..So why would you add studio harmonica to it..when its a live take from a radio appearance??
now we're questioning the bands decision making process?
lol.
think about it.
its pearl jam.
and you're questioning the thought process behind it?
its rock n fuckin roll, man.
groove on it
or move a long.
If I opened it now would you not understand?
Of course it's been re-tooled. That's why it's called a demo, because it sounds rough. I really don't think they rerecorded anything for this track though, they just mastered the old tape for Lost Dogs. I could be wrong, though.